ACLU sues D.C. officer for alleged attack on boy

WASHINGTON – A 14-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department is now facing a lawsuit.

A federal suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation’s Capital Thursday claims Officer David E. Bailey, Jr. attacked a boy inside a Southeast D.C. elementary school in 2012.

“The officer grabbed the 10-year-old boy by the back of his head and slammed his forehead forward into the cafeteria table,” says ACLU attorney Jennifer Wedekind.

According to the lawsuit, Bailey grew frustrated while lecturing unruly students when one boy began talking with a classmate.

The ACLU claims in a news release that the boy — called “T.P.” in the suit — had been talking quietly to another student while the officer was talking to a group of students about discipline. The organization says Bailey slammed the 80-pound boy’s head “into a lunch table, then picked him up by his shirt, threatened him with arrest and dropped him back into his chair.”

Watch video below of ACLU’s Art Spitzer and Chante Price:

The boy’s mother claims her son suffered headaches following the incident from a mild concussion.

Chante Price’s suit seeks monetary damages from the District, which is also a defendant “because it is legally responsible for Officer Bailey’s actions,” the ACLU says in a news release.

No criminal charges were filed in the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office cited insufficient evidence.

Police Chief Cathy Lanier issued a public statement asking the public to withhold judgment.

“While I can’t comment on this specific case, I will say that police officers should be afforded due process just like anyone else, before judgment is passed. It should also be noted that criminal charges were declined in this matter.”